At the End of the Path
by PhenomenalNitrus
Summary: He didn't care if he messed with the timeline-the future; he just wanted his family back.  Non-Yoai. Discontinued / Up For Adoption.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **There was no way this was a genjutsu-his eyes never lie. Yet, it was impossible for these people to be walking around, breathing, being alive. He had no idea what was happening, and that didn't set well with him. Time-Travel.  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M (just in case).  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> Violence, language, spoilers.**  
><strong>**Genre: **Friendship/Family

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. **

This is a callob story with Nitty Gritty. Non-Yoai. We hope you enjoy it!

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><p><strong>A<strong>t **t**he **E**nd **o**f **t**he **P**ath  
><strong>By: P<strong>henomenal**N**itrus & **N**itty **G**ritty

**Chapter One**

It would be beautiful to sit atop of the Hokage Mountain, holding the Nanadaime(1) hokage hostage, making him watch the village he fought to protect crumble and he would be powerless to stop it.

Sasuke smiled and picked up a small stone and tossed it into the river, watching as it sunk, just like his dreams had.

It had been four years. Four years since the war ended, since the defeat of Akatsuki, and since he had lost everything.

As a child his two goals, or rather ambitions, were simple: kill his brother, and rebuild his clan. Now he wanted to destroy Naruto Uzumaki, and the precious village he loved.

Ever since he had taken over the mantel of Konoha the counsel members responsible for the slaughter of his family were sent to prison on several charges. Sent away for life, probably rotting in a cell-it was too nice of punishment; they deserved a painful death by his hands for their crimes against his family. Only an Uchiha could bring justice to the clan.

Grinding his teeth, Sasuke slumped against the rock. The Nanadaime Hokage was going to watch his village burn for what he had done. That man took everything away from him with his stupid self-righteous attitude and naïveté.

He deserved to suffer…he deserved to have everything precious to him disappear-killed while he was powerless to stop him. To see his precious people die in flames…

Konoha was going to burn.

_XxX Hold up, oh no, who let them in the door XxX_

Once in a while it was nice to breathe fresh air. In his office he was breathing the same recycled air everyday, but this air was pure. It had been six months since he left the village, and the first time in those six months since he felt like he was actually doing something useful.

Although he-now-understood the importance to paperwork, he still hated it. He could understand why most of the previous Hokage's had weird quirks-reading porn, drinking in the morning, playing with a crystal stalker ball.

So sue him for wanting to escape for a few measly hours. He hated being coddled-he knew he was an important figure to the village and needed (or so they said) protection, but he thought it was bullshit. He could take care of himself.

Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze needed no one to sit around babysitting him, holding his hand for a "just in case" situation.

On this entire mission he didn't even come across a small scuffle, which was to be expected it was only a C-rank mission. He could have easily sent a team of genin-but he wanted to escape. He needed a break, and missions to him were his break from the office, he was still a shonobi, and he hated being treated as though he were fragile.

He grinned and adjusted the porcelain raven mask that covered his face. He had kept his old anbu uniform and it served to be the perfect disguise for him to slip away in. His hair was covered with a white-grey hood that matched the uniform. He had specifically requested this uniform-with the hood, that way he would be unidentifiable-his hair was always a big tip off to enemies.

Plus, although it would seem that he fled from his duties, he hadn't. He was not stupid enough to leave the hokage's chair empty. Sitting in his steed was himself- a clone. It knew how to handle the office, and it was a great sit-in hokage.

Naruto stopped and took a breather. He was using a lot of chakra, trying his best to reach Konoha before night fall-and failing. He was still a good few hours from the gates and the sun was starting to blind him as it set in the west.

He stood on the tree branch for a few minutes. Taking calm breaths, trying to keep his legs from trembling from the amount of area that he had already run across.

He took out his canteen of water and took a swing from it, not minding as some water droplets dripped down his chin.

He rubbed his legs and groaned as they ached under his fingers.

"Common," he muttered tiredly to himself. "Just two hours and we can sit down and do paperwork for a week," he cooed to himself. Motivation to keep going, he needed it-because honestly he felt like just sitting on this branch and never moving again.

"Talking to yourself?"

Naruto froze. He knew that voice, well used to know that voice. It was deeper, darker, than he last remembered. He inwardly cursed himself for not paying attention to any chakra signatures around.

Turning around he saw him standing on a tree branch a few feet behind him. His pale hand was resting against the trunk and that blasted smirk was saying more than the man himself. That smirk that always could tell Naruto that he was a moron with no words.

He opened his mouth and quickly closed it. Sasuke would not recognize him under the mask, and was silently thankful for the protocol that anbu must remain anonymous.

_XxX It's like a freak show, shake it like a photo XxX_

Sasuke watched the Konoha anbu stare at him impassively. He wondered whether killing this man would make a difference in the ranks of the village, and then realized he didn't care if it did or didn't. He felt fury build in him as the man just stood there.

Did he not realize that he was Sasuke Uchiha. He smirked, poor fool.

"Not going to try and take me in are you," he mocked and grinned-nothing playfully or sweet about it.

"You are not my concern," the anbu murmured out in a familiar voice. Sasuke couldn't place it.

"Your Hokage may think otherwise," he challenged and smiled, "the moron was always on about some promise," he scuffed.

"Hokage-sama has given up on you."

Sasuke froze. 'What..?' suddenly a smile formed on his face, cruel and unforgiving. "That idiot finally realize how much time he has wasted chasing me like a sick lost puppy?" Sasuke smirked and eyed the Anbu.

Yet his chest hurt…ice flowed through his veins and fury burned behind his eyes. He was itching to kill the man, then head straight to Konoha and kill Naruto.

The raven anbu did not reply, eyeing him carefully. Sasuke smiled, the man was obviously not going to underestimate him.

"You are not my concern Uchiha," the anbu calmly spoke, yet not turning away from Sasuke. Smart-not to turn your back on an enemy. "You are scum," the man continued, "abandoning your comrades, teammates and family."

He growled and felt his chakra build up, unconsciously forming a chidori in his hand. He grit his teeth and glanced at his hand where the blue ball of electricity had formed, turned and grinned manically at the anbu. "I **never** abandoned my family," he hissed out, taking a threatening step closer. "You don't know anything."

"I know more than you think."

Sasuke humorlessly chuckled and dispersed the chidori, and clenched his hand. "You know nothing!" he seethed and glared at him, "whatever your precious Hokage has been spewing is garbage! Whatever you **may** think is flawed. You know shit about me."

He was surprised to note that anbu's eyes seemed darker and he could feel the charka spike around the man.

"I am not the one who forsake everything my brother fought for." The baritone voice cut into him, he didn't respond. "I am not the one who is constantly manipulated," he spat out and turned his head up to the sky-though Sasuke that he was still being watched. "I am not the one who destroyed the only one willing to go to hell to save you."

Sasuke smirked and started to chuckle, "Hell to save me?" he threw back at the man, watching as his head turned to look at him instead of the cloudy sky. "Nobody asked him to."

"Nobody had to." The man whispered out, though his voice rang like a bell.

Sasuke frowned, shaking off that same tender feeling he always got whenever Naruto was brought into the picture. It was hard to ignore being wanted by someone, even if it was someone he vowed to kill…he still thought of his ex-teammate as his best friend.

His eyes trained on the anbu, and frowned again. The man had significantly stiffened, his posture tense and rigid. He watched as the anbu swayed lightly and he felt the man's chakra spike in a threatening way. Sasuke glanced around the clearing-there was no other chakra signatures around-maybe he found Sasuke threatening?

The anbu groaned pitifully and swayed dangerously close to the edge of the tree branch. Sasuke watched, unsure as what to do, and secretly hoping the man fell from the tree- breaking his own neck.

Sasuke smirked as the man reached out and touched the trunk of the tree with his hand. Sasuke noted it was tan.

He saw the anbu fall to his knees, almost slipping from the branch and clenched his hands into fists as he placed his head between his knees. He appeared to be in severe amounts of pain, and Sasuke couldn't fathom why.

Maybe on his mission he had gotten hurt? Slow acting poison..? Served the moron right.

His eyes widened as the man's chakra flared again and he realized that his chakra was draining at an alarming rate. Instinctively he activated the sharingan, and glanced around the forest quickly.

Someone-or something- was draining his chakra. Was it an enemy-and although he really didn't care what happened to the Konoha shonobi, he was still in the forest-therefore at risk too if this threat was left unattended. He was not going to die before he could kill Naruto.

He frowned, there was nothing around…. nothing strong enough to be a threat. He shook his head and turned his blood eyes back to the anbu.

'What the…' he stared. That man had the Kyuubi's chakra…. which meant….

_XxX Hate is only what you say, not what you mean XxX_

Naruto kept his head low, trying to keep his breathing even. Everything was burning, he had no idea what was happening but Kyuubi seemed quite disturbed.

He gripped his arm, willing the burning to stop. He wanted it to stop…

He didn't care that Sasuke was there, he couldn't even see the Uchiha anymore-although unnerving, he just couldn't focus. His eyes blurred as he kept them closed tightly, gripping his arm rougher, trying to refrain from screaming.

He tried to control the spikes in his chakra, with every spike it felt as though electricity was combining with the fire. He took calming breaths, keeping his eyes closed, trying to focus. He needed to control his chakra, but with each passing second he felt drained.

He recognized what was happening, his chakra was being stolen-he assumed at least. He couldn't control it; he tried and hissed as another wave of electricity shot though his stomach and chest.

He kept his eyes closed and bit his lip, causing it to bleed as the fire felt as though it was increasing in intensity. He groaned and felt darkness pulling him under, his body was heavy. He didn't want Sasuke to know who he was, but he was sure the Uchiha had already figured it out.

Kyuubi roared and Naruto felt his head pulse at the pained sound and he could sympathize with the demon. It might be possible that he was feeling what Naruto was.

Sweat trickled under his mask and his hair now sticking messily to his forehead. He felt the clone dispel-the one he left at the office, and frowned. He couldn't even register what the memories of the clone where, the pain was numbing everything in his mind to mush.

He felt his anbu mask being lifted carefully, and willing up strength he lifted his head to look at Sasuke who was crouched in front of the Hokage.

"Naruto…" he whispered in shock and there seemed to be something besides hate in those eyes but Naruto couldn't figure it out-he could barely focus on the blurry image of his ex-teammate.

Something moved behind Sasuke and he looked past the Uchiha and saw a shadowy figure move towards them.

Dark greasy hair cascading down his back, sickly pale skin. Who the hell was that..? and that smirk, it was creepy and Naruto felt his chakra spike again.

This time he did scream and his body quivered, he tried to keep his head focused on the figure that seemed to smiling with mirth as withered in pain.

"Sas…" his voice was foreign to his own ears, too low for a person to hear. He wanted to warn the Uchiha-about the figure, it made Kyuubi uneasy-that was no feat.

He opened his mouth again and a wave of dizziness washed through him and he felt himself falling as darkness descended on him.

_XxX And pain, is what's inside of me not when you're bleeding XxX_

Sasuke quickly reached out and grabbed the anb-no, Naruto's- uniform and hauled him back on the tree branch. He leaned the unconscious man against the bark, and whirled around to where he had been staring off before.

There was nothing behind him. He kept his sharagian on, but he still didn't see anything. Maybe Naruto was losing focus at the end..?

He sighed and glanced at his old teammate and frowned. His breathing was shallow, and his chakra was barely there-at this rate he would die.

Now was a time he wished he knew some medical jutsus, nobody was to kill the Nanadaime before he did. It was that simple, he would not allow Naruto to die at some unknown person's hand.

Quickly checking over the Hokage, he noticed not a single scratch on his friend, if he was poisoned, where was the needle or weapon mark? Did he ingest it..? Did someone slip it into the moron's ramen?

As he was about to deactivate his sharingan and haul the idiot to a doctor, he heard a low buzzing sound. He whipped towards the direction the sound was coming from-there was nothing there.

Yet the volume increased and he winced, placing both hands over his ears. It was a piercing buzz and even with his hands muffling the sound it was ear splitting.

Within a few seconds he felt his vision blur and his insides coiled at the idea that some unforeseen enemy was going to kill him.

He closed his eyes to stop the white dots from dancing across his vision and he felt his limbs grow heavy. He attempted to move his heavy hands, he needed to create a summon, get backup, but his hands wouldn't cooperate.

He cursed and tried to move his hands again but was only greeted with darkness. He knew no more.

_XxX I will fall xXx_

"Sensei," she called out to her teacher who was sitting cross-legged on a stump. His eyes were closed in obvious meditation.

"Are you done training?" a gruff voice asked her, his eyes still shut. She frowned, and glanced to her other two teammates. She sighed once they both shrugged and she brushed her dark hair out of eyes.

"Sensei," she called again, "you need to see something." She told hotly and glared at the man who cracked both his eyes open; his pupil-less eyes boring into her own red ones.

"What is it?" he muttered out tiredly. She understood why he was tired, they had been training extra hard for the upcoming chuunin exams so he was always trying to get them to practice.

"Two men fell from the trees," she told softly, "they're hurt real bad." She sighed and saw her teacher quickly stand up.

"Where?" he asked and she pointed past her shoulder to where her other two teammates were kneeling. They were checking the men over-to see if they had any injuries.

"Enemies?" he questioned marching towards the two boys. She shook her head quickly.

"No, one has a Konoha headband."

He nodded and approached his team. She stood off to the side and watched her sensei kneel next to one of the bodies. The guy had dark hair; spiked at odd angles in the back, while at the front his bangs framed his angular face. He reminded her of an Uchiha…

"He's lost a lot of chakra," her sensei murmured. She glanced at her other two teammates, one shrugged his shoulders with no interest and the other was biting his lip in worry.

Their teacher stood up and moved to the next one, rolling the man over so that he was no longer lying on his stomach. Everyone froze.

"Asuma…" her sensei called to her teammate, "come and give me a hand." He thoughtfully said, even though his eyes never left the face of the man. Kurenai couldn't blame him; his features also struck her.

Asuma slowly walked towards his sensei and kneeled down, noting that he already had the Byakugan activated-the veins around his eyes a dead give away.

"Shit," he cursed and turned his, now, deactivated eyes to his team, "Gai," he called to the green-jumpsuit teen, "carry that one," he pointed to the dark haired male, "I'll carry him, they need immediate medical attention."

Gai nodded quickly and walked over to the fallen man, Kurenai lending a hand as she hefted the still body up so that her teammate could easily carry him.

"Hizashi-sensei," Asuma spoke up, still staring at the man before him, "he looks like Yondaime-sama, except for the scars," he said noting the three parallel scars on both of his cheeks.

"I know," he told softly and hefted the body up, cradling him carefully.

"Who is he?" Asuma questioned, standing up and following behind his teammates and teacher.

Hizashi glanced down at the man in his arms, and shook his head. He couldn't answer his student-he had no idea who this person was.

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><p>(1) Nanadaime- Seventh Hokage.<p>

Hizashi Hyuuga is the sensei to Asuma, Kurenai and Gai in my story. We don't know if that is actually the case in the cannon.

We're trying to keep everyone at the correct age, but we are having problems with that. So some characters may be a year or two younger/older, but we tried to keep them in the correct age slot.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

Line breaks have nothing to do with the story. We were just trying something different. Line break from the previous chapter are from Thousand Foot Krutch-My own enemy, and this chapter's belong to Again by Flyleaf. We do not own any of the lyrics or take credit for them.

Thanks to everyone who showed interest in this story.

Un-beta'd

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><p><strong>A<strong>t **t**he **E**nd **o**f **t**he **P**ath  
><strong>By: P<strong>henomenal**N**itrus & **N**itty **G**ritty

**Chapter Two**

As soon as he heard the constant beeping of the heart monitor, Naruto knew exactly where he was. He frowned at the idea of being in a hospital, Sakura was sure to be treating him, that way she would have no qualms about trying to strangle him for sneaking off.

He groaned and turned slowly on his side, wincing as the needle that was taped to his hand moved with him. He didn't care, and he kept his face buried in his pillow.

He sighed and wrinkled his nose at the smell of rubber and antiseptics. Another dead give away that he was in the hospital.

Possible escape routes formed in his mind, but he realized that it was best to sit this one out. Being Hokage, they were sure to have doubled the guard as well as block any possible escape.

He groaned again and shut his eyes tightly…his mind was fuzzy and he tried to remember the last thing that happened that would land him here.

"You're up I see…" a soft gentle voice commented, causing Naruto to slowly open his eyes, wincing at the lights but refusing to shut them again. He waited for them to adjust and he turned to lie on his back.

Standing at the foot of the bed was the third Hokage.

Naruto blinked a few times, and brought his left hand-where there was no tape or needle sticking out of him- and rubbed his eye slowly.

The hokage was still there.

"I need more sleep," he mumbled to himself and allowed his eyes to drift shut, "I'm seeing dead people."

Naruto heard the Sandaime chuckle, he sounded much younger than when Naruto remembered him. When he was a kid, the hokage had a raspy weary voice-this one was gentle and soft. It held no roughness in it.

He blocked the laugh out and tried to focus on keeping his breathing even and his heart rate in check-because he didn't need the fuss of nurses rushing to check on him.

"Dead people?" Hiruzen mused, stroking his chin, "I am very much alive young man." He told watching as the boy fought against sleep.

Naruto opened his eyes and glared at the man, "clearly," he mocked and yawned loudly. "I saw them burry you," he told in a daze, "anyone will tell you, if you're going to impersonate a hokage, make sure you're not impersonating one that's dead," he rattled out automatically-as though this was a routine lecture.

Hiruzen eyes glowed in amusement before he moved from the foot of the bed to around the bed, Naruto's baby blue eyes following him as he stood near the heart monitor.

"Like you…?" he muttered out and pulled the red hospital chair close to the bed. He held a smile that spoke volumes about the amusement he found in this situation. Naruto didn't understand why he found this amusing….was he missing something?

"…huh?" he dumbly questioned and tried to sit up-he didn't like the idea of having to look up at everyone, but immediately regretted that idea. His entire body stung from the small amount of movement.

"You're pretty good I must admit," he hummed out and eyed the boy who was trying to focus on ignoring the stinging in his body. "You look almost identical to the Yondaime," he murmured out and smiled widely, "except for those scars on your cheeks."

Naruto blinked at him and opened his mouth but closed it. 'What…?'

"Obviously I look like him…" he told, wondering why he was even talking to the illusion. This was obviously a dream-he hadn't woken up yet. "We're related, you know that."

It hurt to think about his dad, what he could have been like-as a father, teacher and Hokage.

"I beg your pardon?" Hiruzen seemed stunned at that.

"I'm too tired," he mumbled and yawned again allowing his eyes to drift close, "you're just a dream," he admitted lightly, "you're dead." He softly told and his eyes finally drifted shut.

Hiruzen's eyes widened and he leaned back in the chair. This was a new tactic at invading a village…and he felt himself congratulating whoever created such a clever ruse. It was working the boy seemed innocent enough. Those were the ones to watch for though.

_xXx I love the way that your heart breaks xXx_

Just from the back of the man's head, Sasuke could already tell who was sitting beside Naruto's bed. But that was completely impossible; the third had died a decade ago.

This was a poor genjutsu-whoever had cast it did not think to use actual living people-bringing back the dead was –now- impossible. The only person who could have possibly brought the dead to some semblance of life was killed years ago.

He placed his fingers together, ignoring the slight sting from the movement. "Kai." He whispered, but loud enough for the Sandaime to hear him.

Nothing happened, the man had turned around and given him a strange-yet surprised look. Sasuke shook his head and decided a different method would be best at dispelling this genjutsu.

"Sharingan," he muttered. He glanced at the supposed to be dead hokage, and felt his stomach drop. This was impossible; this had to be a genjutsu. There was no way that he was alive-he had seen the man get buried-six feet under. This just wasn't possible.

Yet…all the evidence was staring at him. He sighed, and blinked tiredly. There was no way this was a genjutsu- his eyes never lie. Yet…this man, this dead man, was staring at him-alive. Not dead.

He shook his head and deactivated his sharingan. He had no idea what was going on.

"You are an Uchiha…" Hiruzen commented with awe, Sasuke's eyes now staying on the much younger man than he remembered. His voice was also off from what his memory supplied-it was softer, kinder.

Sasuke decided not to respond. It wasn't a question. He kept his eyes on the third hokage, trying to figure this out-whatever this was.

"Who are you?"

_xXx With every injustice and deadly fate xXx_

Hiruzen blinked and stood up, brushing his hands gently across his beige slacks. He faced the Uchiha, he must have been in his late teens, still a kid.

This kid had to be an Uchiha-the sharingan was impossible to replicate. This had definitely gotten a lot more interesting than before. He was thankful that he had decided to come and personally look after the imposter of the Yondaime.

"I am Hiruzen Saratoubi," he answered, picked the chair up and turned it to face his bed instead of the sleeping imposter. "The third hokage of Konoha," he added in an authoritative voice. "Who might you be?"

The boy eyed him critically, before snapping his eyes shut and shaking his head. Hiruzen sat back in the chair, resting his hands neatly on his knees. He could wait-he had learned patience with raising two rowdy kids.

He smiled after a minute when the kid finally opened his eyes and stared harshly at him.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he meekly told, "this isn't a genjutsu," he confirmed and sighed.

"No it's not," he sadly told, though he didn't quite understand why he would believe it to be a genjutsu. But, it told Hiruzen that this man was definitely a ninja-with which village he was unsure, he was not wearing a headband.

The young Uchiha looked confused and a bit lost, but Hiruzen saw something else in those dark irises: fear. The Sandaime thought that the pure raw emotion of fear on his face made this kid seem a lot younger than his appearance.

"How old are you?" He questioned, he had not looked at the Uchiha's medical charts. He could never understand that chicken scratch anyway.

Sasuke seemed to frown, "twenty-one," he told with a tone of shock in his voice. "You're dead." He told, more to himself than to the Sandaime.

Hiruzen frowned. The other kid mentioned that he was dead as well…"I am very much alive Mr. Uchiha," he told politely. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Sasuke glanced at him and huffed, "because you aren't," he airily told. "died nine years ago," he provided and closed his eyes, "I think…"

The Sandaime eyed him carefully. This man was delusional as was the other one-whatever the other kid's name was.

"You must have hit your head," he sighed and stood up, "I shall inform the nurses about this…" he murmured and glanced back at the bed with the other boy. The resemblance to Minato was astounding. "I will check on you later." He told the boy and walked towards the door.

_xXx Praying it all be new and living like it all depends on you xXx_

Mikoto crossed her legs, and leaned back in the uncomfortable chairs. They lined the walls outside of the Hokage's office, and seeing how he was not in yet, she had to wait. This was not her idea, to be honest, she couldn't care, but her husband insisted that it was clan business that needed to be discussed.

She sighed and glanced at the man, he was sitting beside her. Posture perfect and rigid, his eyes showing his impatience.

She didn't mind waiting, she learned patience after dealing with her two year old son. But she didn't like that they were not the first ones to speak with the Hokage-a group of gennin were ahead of her and her family. Although she could wait, these chairs were uncomfortable, who knew how long it would take for the team to deliver their report.

"Yes, and I want chakra seals on them," Hiruzen's voice murmured to his secretary. The woman quickly nodded, holding a few files in her hand as she walked briskly beside the Sandaime.

The third turned his eyes to the group of people sitting outside his office and sighed audibly. "Team three," he called quickly and put his hand up to stop them from moving. "You will be after I speak to the Uchiha's."

"But…!" Hiashi stood up his face hard, "we were here long before they were." He pointed out and glanced towards them in disguist. Mikoto didn't care.

"It does not matter, they seem to want to discuss something important. We will not be long." He tiredly told and opened the door to his office, gesturing the group in.

Mikoto stood up and followed Fugaku into the office and her cousin in as well. The third walked around the desk and sat in the chair that she was now used to seeing Minato sitting in.

Fugaku stood in the middle of the three, while she stood off to his left side and their cousin, Teyaki, stood to his right. She shifted uncomfortably, she felt underdressed. She was just wearing her casual attire, seeing how she was not on 'active' duty per se.

"What can I do for you?" he asked, taking the folder that was handed to him from his secatary. He didn't bother to open it and folded his hands atop of it.

"We have come to discuss the imposter," Teyaki began and glanced to his right and received a curt nod from Fugaku.

"Imposter?"

"Yes, Hiruzen-sama." He agreed and cleared his throat quietly. "We have heard rumours that there is a boy who claims to be an Uchiha."

"Rumours are a bad thing to listen to Teyaki-san." Hiruzen rebutted and leaned back in his chair.

"I understand that Hiruzen-sama, but given that the last rumour regarding the Uchiha proved to be true we would like to investigate this matter ourselves as official clan business."

Hiruzen nodded seriously and glanced at Mikoto and smiled warmly before turning his attention back at the rest of the group. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, which was never a good sign.

"I cannot allow that." He told.

"With all due respect-"

"I understand the need to dispel the rumours for the reputation of your family," he interrupted ignoring Teyaki. "However, the matter is being handled, and as for the rumours they are never accurate." He said and glanced at them, "the young man in question still has rights, and I will not allow you to interrogate him when he is still injured."

Mikoto nodded in understanding.

"And with all due respect Hiruzen-sama," Teyaki began bitterness seeping into his voice, "the last rumour that circulated was one hundred percent accurate and you did not notify us."

"That was none of your business." He simply told and waved his hand dismissively.

"It certainly was," Fugaku told harshly and glared at the man, "if someone other than an Uchiha is running around with the Sharaingan we deserve to know."

Mikoto shot her husband a look, a warning. They discussed this in private already and he although did not like her logic agreed that this was not their concern. She glanced quickly back at the acting Hokage and felt the tension in the room increase. His face was darker and he sat on the edge of his seat, his eyes blazing in anger.

"No, Uchiha-san it was not." He spat out and glanced at the three of them critically, "that was Kakashi-kun's and Obito-kun's business. Nobody else's." he told and shook his head sadly, "I would hope you would respect the wishes of the dead."

Fugaku had the decency to look ashamed and Mikoto gave a curt nod. For the past three months she had felt bad for Kakashi, the kid had lost a friend and now was being treated harshly from her family- because of a gift he refused to give up.

"Forgive me, Hiruzen-sama," Fugaku politely replied and bowed his head, "I was out of line."

Hiruzen waved his hand and leaned back in his hair, "Just be careful, I do hear the rumours spreading about your treatment of young Kakashi," he told and frowned, "and Minato and I are not happy." He said seriously and glanced at the three of them. "Do not forget that Kakashi was Minato's student."

"Yes Hiruzen-sama."

"Good." He smiled and glanced towards the door, "as for the other boy," he began and glanced around the room, "I am taking care of that matter personally. There is no need to worry."

"But Hizur-"

"You may leave," he waved and glanced at his secretary who walked quickly past the three Uchiha's and opened the door. She smiled politely and gestured for them to leave.

Mikoto bowed, "Thank you for your time." She smiled and began turning away from them.

"Oh Mikoto-san," Hiruzen called, causing her and Fugaku to stop and glance back at the man. "I bought this for little Itachi," he said and held out a small rattler, "I think he would enjoy it." He smiled and tossed the item to Mikoto. She caught it with ease and glanced at the rattler.

"Thank you Hiruzen," she politely replied and bowed lowly for him. She held the toy tightly and left the office, accidently bumping into one of the kids in team three.

She glanced back at the baby rattle. It was a dark royal blue colour and had a yellow sun and moon on it. It wasn't the best toy in the world but it was cute enough and Itachi did seem to like to grab things that made noise. She was sure he would love this little baby rattle.

_xXx Here you are, down on your knees again xXx_

Naruto groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. It was blurry but he expected that. He yawned and stared up at a white ceiling allowing his eyes to adjust and the white spots in his vision to slowly vanish.

He sighed, he was in the hospital, and any second now Sakura was going to storm in (she had a six sense for when he was awake while in the hospital) and add more injuries to his injuries.

He frowned…why did he end up in the hospital anyway?

"You're awake again." A voice greeted, he frowned. He couldn't place that voice, it wasn't familiar.

He went to move his hand and instead of his hand moving-like it was supposed to-he heard a clink of metal. He frowned and glanced down at his hands and stared in shock.

"Why am I handcuffed to my bed?" he asked and glanced at the person who was sitting near his bed.

Why was he seeing the third hokage?

"Did I die?" he blurted out and glanced around before shaking his head, "no…" he answered for himself, "I don't think they handcuff you to a bed when you die."

"You are not dead." Hiruzen muttered out tiredly and glanced towards Sasuke who was awake and staring at Naruto as though he had lost his mind. Which he was starting to question too.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and back at Hiruzen, "can you see him too?" he curiously asked which received an eye roll from the youngest Uchiha.

"Yes he can see me." Hiruzen answered amused. "I am not dead." He hotly told just as Naruto was about to open his mouth-he could see his line of thought as though it were visible.

Naruto shut his mouth and frowned. "Well then I'm dreaming…" he sighed and closed his eyes, "This is one fucked-up dream, I must say." He smiled sheepishly, "haven't dreamt of you in a long time old man."

Hiruzen frowned but dismissed the comment. "I am here on official business." He told and glanced at Sasuke. After seeing Mikoto just a few short hours previously he could see how much they resembled each other. Maybe she had a younger brother?

"Okay…" Naruto muttered and glanced at Sasuke who seemed perfectly fine at remaining quiet through the entire thing.

"Tell me your name please."

Naruto frowned. Was this wise? What if he was in a genjustu-wouldn't they already know his name? Plus if this man didn't know his name he had been living under a rock for the past eight months? Everyone knew he was the youngest Hokage elected into office…everyone knew his name.

He sighed. "Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze." He told and glanced at him, "you're bad at being an imposter." He mumbled out and sighed again.

He watched as the third's eyes widened and glanced at the him critically. "Uzumaki-Namikaze?" he muttered in disbelief.

"Yeah…" Naruto replied awkwardly. He knew about his parents since he was sixteen…a lot of people did actually. This shouldn't have been such a big surprise.

"Is he lying?" Hiruzen turned to Sasuke and gave him a hard look. Naruto was confused and frowned-he would never lie about something like this.

Sasuke scuffed, "just look at him." Sasuke muttered darkly, "he looks exactly like his dad."

"His dad…?" Hiruzen muttered and glanced back at Naruto and frowned. "Your dad is Minato Namikaze…?"

Naruto swallowed, noticing how dry his throat was and wished he had some water by him. He nodded slowly, unsure of what to say to that. How did someone not know this yet? Seriously, the imposter must have been living under a rock.

"That is not possible," he told, "Minato is too young to have a son so old."

"Oi!" Naruto hollered wincing at his own tone-his throat did not agree with using such a high volume. "I am not old."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-one." He proudly told and smiled.

"Minato is only two years older than you, young man." He told and sighed. (1)

Naruto froze. "What…?" he shook his head and went to move his hands and growled when the handcuff rattled uselessly against the bed. "That's not funny."

"I'm not laughing."

Naruto glared hatefully at the man and turned his head to Sasuke who seemed equally disturbed by the information.

"Minato Namikaze is dead." Sasuke told darkly and glanced at the third hokage with venom in his eyes. Naruto nodded mutely but dared not open his mouth.

Hiruzen frowned and leaned back in the cruddy hospital chair. 'Well…this is new.'

* * *

><p>(1) I can't seem to find the age at which Minato died...though I did not search extensively for it. NG didn't know either so we both just took an educated guess. Even if it's wrong, we won't be changing it-due to the fact it will mess up most of the story.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

><p><strong>A<strong>t **t**he **E**nd **o**f **t**he **P**ath  
><strong>By: P<strong>henomenal**N**itrus **& N**itty **G**ritty

**Chapter Three**

Hiruzen ran a hand through his brown-which was graying- hair and kept his eyes focused on the two boys. This was definitely a new development; after dealing with a lot of people, and some even imposters, nobody had come up with the implication that they were in fact from the future-that is what he was getting from this.

It was utterly absurd and he felt like laughing right in their faces at the notion.

Yet…he sighed. The blood test that he had Akari do for him, was frightening and kept his mind drifting back to the idea of time-travel. Naruto-or so he claimed was his name- DNA showed evidence that he was in fact related to Minato. He didn't test it against Kushina, and for some reason, he had a feeling they would also be related.

Sasuke, on the other hand, Hiruzen had just recently got the tests back regarding his family. He was related to both Mikoto Uchiha and Fukagu Uchiha. His mind could only come to the conclusion that he was their son…but he had yet to figure out how that was possible.

He shook his head and took a close look at Sasuke. He definitely resembled Mikoto-but not Fugaku…maybe he had the same personality? The boy definitely didn't seem warm, like Mikoto was.

"I would not lie to you about this," he told and turned his eyes away from the dark Uchiha to stare at Minato's double. Except the scars-if that's what they were. "Why would I?"

"Lots of reasons," Naruto commented and closed his eyes, "I just can't figure out what you hope to gain by giving such a blatant lie. I came to peace with the fact that they are dead and never coming back. You won't accomplish anything by trying this tactic."

Hiruzen frowned, noticing the use of the word 'they'. Did that mean that his mother, Kushina-if she was- was dead too? That didn't sit well in his stomach and he rested both his hands gently on his lap.

"I am not lying." He stated and glanced towards Sasuke who seemed to be trying to drill holes into his skull. The Uchiha glare was not effective against him, he had dealt with too many of them for it to be effective.

"Sure," Naruto sarcastically bit out, "and I'm the Yondaime Raikage-Ei." He replied airily and snorted dismissively.

Hiruzen scowled…there was no Yondaime Raikage yet…they still only had the Sandaime.

The notion of time travel was now back in full force-how could he so carelessly say something like that-as though it were true? The scans from the medical staff say their brains were fine, and they actually did not hit their heads against anything-even if they did fall from the trees.

It wasn't unheard of, several of the brightest shonobi tried to create a time-travel jutsu…none where successful. Maybe in the future they were? The implications that were astounding but Hiruzenwas not about to take any risks.

"I will be back." He muttered out dazedly and quickly fled the hospital room.

_XxX Everything is still and calm in the dead of night XxX_

"You're releasing us?" Naruto blinked owlishly, a grin spreading across his face.

"Not yet," Hiruzen told and walked towards the foot of Sasuke's bed. The Uchiha seemed impassive about the entire 'situation' (this definitely qualified as a situation) though he could also see the way the boy relaxed at the idea of being released.

Hiruzen smiled warmly, and turned his light grey eyes (1) towards Naruto. "First thing is first," he began in an authoritative voice that left no room for interruption, "You need to answer a few serious questions. Truthfully."

Naruto nodded in understanding. Sasuke scowled but did not voice is displeasure. The sandaime smiled, "good, so you will have no problem taking truth serum?"

Naruto nodded again, but stopped mid-way and frowned. "What?" he furrowed his eyebrows and his face scrunched up in distaste, "why?"

"To make sure you are telling the truth of course," he told politely and watched as Sasuke's features darkened, shooting a murderous glare towards the aging man.

"But…" Naruto sighed, "never-mind." He muttered out, already knowing what he was going to say would not work. This man didn't obviously know Naruto very well; what kind of imposter doesn't know its victims?

Sasuke growled, "No." he told and glared hatefully at the sandaime.

"Than you cannot be freed," he simply told shrugging his shoulders, "we have a few cells and that's where you will find yourselves if you do not cooperate."

Just by how Naruto's shoulders tensed, and Sasuke's entire posture became rigid and his fists clenched into fists, Hiruzen knew that they took his threat as just that- a threat.

"I see." Naruto coldly mumbled out.

The sandaime strode to the single chair and took a seat in it. He smoothed out the hokage robes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

No one spoke, the monitors monotonous beeping keeping them company. He had experience with patience; raising two kids could do that to a person.

Naruto on the other hand, although he was Hokage he still had not learned patience, but he definitely was not as impulsive as he was when he was a kid.

_XxX Right before the fight XxX_

Naruto contemplated the offer. Freedom for a bit of truth? What could be the harm…? He didn't fully understand what was going on here, which was the problem. He wasn't trapped in a genjutsu-Sasuke would have been long gone if that were the case-and would probably have been the castor of the jutsu.

So taking the truth serum to reveal village secrets to these…criminals (impersonating a hokage is a crime!) was not something he wanted to do. Yet…being cuffed to this hospital bed was not an option either.

The cells were also another option. He knew them quite well…but not extensively. He wasn't allowed to venture around the city for long periods because his anbu guards would not allow it because of his 'responsibilities', a.k.a paperwork.

But he did know there were many different types of cells in Konoha. Most were underground, but there were holding cells-those were easy to break from and were used mostly for civilians.

The underground cells were tough to break out from, but not impossible. Nothing was impossible for Naruto, but…

He glanced at Sasuke and frowned. Would he risk breaking out of the cell with the one person who is bent on destroying Konoha possibly in the same cell? If they were sent to the cells would they be separated?

Naruto sighed. Truth serum made you tell the truth…does it also prevent you from answering? If there was a question he refused to divulge information about was he allowed to ignore the question?

"Alright." He heard Sasuke answer and he directed his eyes to the man.

"You want to go to the cells or you will cooperate?" the Sandaime-fake sandaime- pointed out.

He watched Sasuke roll his dark eyes-clearly showing what a stupid question that was-though Naruto himself was curious.

"I'll take the serum."

Naruto's eyes widened. Why would he do that…? He knew better to talk to the enemy-these imposters being it.

That was unless that he felt there was nothing he could tell that they didn't already know….or that they weren't really imposters.

_XxX Clouds are gathering for the storm XxX_

"Good," Hiruzen smiled and flicked his eyes towards the other occupant in the room. He seemed disturbed and slightly horrified for a second.

"I agree…" he seemed reluctant to say it but Hiruzen smiled at Naruto, in slight thanks for cooperating-he actually didn't like the idea of sending innocent people to the cells. He stood by, innocent until proven otherwise.

"Excellent," he smiled and nodded approvingly to the blond before standing up and taking a few strides to the side table, and taking out two syringes and liquid jars. He personally didn't like the idea of administrating these himself, but he could not allow anyone else to know this information.

It could be dangerous-especially if his theory was proven right. If these people were from the future….well it was dangerous just him knowing it. Who knows the repercussions it could have on the future.

He walked towards Sasuke, placing on syringe on the side table near his bed. The young Uchiha looked at him carefully, almost as if he was analyzing every small movement that he was making.

Hiruzen stared at the cuffed hands, and pulled out a small key with his free hand from the pocket of the robe. He unlocked Sasuke's left hand and left the right one bound-he needed two hands to create jutsu's.

Sasuke was watching him carefully as he used two fingers to tap the viens in his arm. He could clearly see them, and without deterring his eyes from the pale arm he pushed the syringe into his flesh and emptied its contents.

As soon as it was drained he pulled the needle out and stepped back. He didn't even look at Sasuke as he picked up the next syringe and walked towards Naruto. The medical nin that he spoke to said it takes about ten minutes to actually start to work. It lasted a few hours…more than enough time.

_XxX Destiny decides who will or die XxX_

Naruto cringed as he felt the needle poke through his skin. He hated the feeling…being poked with needles. He shivered inwardly as he saw the liquid drain, knowing it was going into his system. Suddenly he regretted his decision.

The needle slid out of his skin easily as he watched as the sandaime moved away from the bed, taking the syringe towards the cabinet and placed both empty syringes there, far out of reach of Naruto or Sasuke. Smart man.

Naruto leaned back in the pillows of the bed, watching as Hiruzen moved back towards his previously occupied chair. The imposter looked almost identical to the man in Naruto's memories, except for the fact that he was much older looking than this man-although he was not a young person anymore either.

He must have been in his mid-fifties…which is just strange. The man he knew died at the age of sixty-nine.

He shook his head and he wondered idly if the serum would make him feel different. He certainly didn't feel any different than he had a few minutes ago. He glanced at his free hand-which was uncuffed by the sandaime-imposter so he could inject him with the serum...

His mind was working in overdrive at that thought-what if he was just poisoned…? What if that was serum.

He groaned. Sometimes he could still be such an idiot…

That was one of the first things he was lectured about before becoming hokage. That there would be people trying to harm him-no shit, he thought- and that they would be creative.

Maybe Kakashi was right about that….they were being very creative this time around. He shrugged it off and hoped he hadn't just allowed himself to be killed-there was nothing he could do now.

"That should do." Hiruzen muttered, Naruto turned to face the man, noticing at the corner of his eye that Sasuke had as well.

"Let's start with you…Sasuke?" he commented and turned those soft grey eyes to the Uchiha.

"Hn."

"What is your full given name?"

"Sasuke Uchiha." He replied airily as though this was simply a chore-it kind of was.

"Age?"

"21."

Naruto blinked at how fast he was answering….maybe he couldn't avoid questions? He frowned at that…he didn't like that idea.

"Parents?"

"Deceased." Naruto blinked and glanced at his ex-teammate. That's the first thing he would say regarding his parents? It wasn't like the sandaime had asked whether they were actually living.

"I meant.." Hiruzen chuckled and cleared his throat, "who are your parents."

"Hn." He replied and Naruto was inwardly happy to know the serum hadn't made Sasuke into a docile doll that would answer all questions.

"Who are your parents?" he questioned again, quieter. It was definitely a gentle question, no pity in the voice, but it was sad. Naruto didn't understand why the question was asked in that particular way. Maybe because he found out they were dead? How would this man not know that-he inwardly snorted. Enemies were getting sloppy.

"Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha." He answered quietly.

Naruto was surprised at hearing this. This was the first time he heard Sasuke speak his parents names…all he ever mentioned when they were kids was Itachi.

"I see." Hiruzen murmured out and glanced towards Naruto. He took a gulp of salvia, dreading how dry his mouth felt.

"Full given name."

"Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto replied without thought….maybe the serum just didn't make you think? That way you could only answer naturally?

"I thought you said Uzumaki-Namikaze before?" he frowned and glanced at Naruto.

"That wasn't my given name." he flippantly told and glanced around the room before sighing, "I added on my father's name when I turned eighteen. To honour him."

"Your father is…?"

"Minato Namikaze." He told and closed his eyes, ignoring the sharp intake of breath that the sandaime had issued.

"Why is that a surprise?" Naruto questioned, without opening his eyes. "You already suspected this…" recalling how when he first brought up his name-the man had the nerve to suggest that his dad was alive.

"It's different to hear it confirmed with a truth serum." He muttered and glanced back at Sasuke before turning to Naruto.

"Age?"

"21." Naruto rolled his eyes. Sasuke and him were the same age…for another month. Sasuke would be turning 22 at the end of July-yes he remembered. It's hard to forget your best friend's birthday.

He always questioned why he still considered Sasuke his best friend…

"What is your rank?" Hiruzen continued on, directing his questions still to Naruto.

"I'm no longer an _active_ shonobi." He told and shrugged.

"What are you then?"

"Nanadaime Hokage." He told and smiled whimsically, "a lot of paper work."

"You're….." he looked up to see the sandaime glancing at him as though he had grown an extra head.

"Interesting," the sandaime composed himself and sighed. "So you are not a threat to Konoha?"

"Never!" Naruto hollered sounding appalled at the very thought of that.

"And you?" Hiruzen ignored Naruto-which earned a nice loud huff from the blond man, and turned to Sasuke. Meeting cold dark eyes with his own light grey ones. If only looks could kill, he would be dead from all the Uchiha glaring.

"Me what?" he told back a smirk firmly plastered in place.

"What is your rank?"

"Genin," he truthfully told earning a snicker from Naruto.

"Genin?" Hiruzen asked surprised…"but you're twenty-one."

He didn't answer which earned an agitated sigh from the sandaime. 'Maybe the Uchiha's had deteriorated through the years?' Hiruzen thought.

"Are you a threat to Konoha?"

Naruto snorted at that thought. These imposters were really playing their cards right, although his mind was now entertaining the idea that maybe-just maybe-they weren't really impostors, why else would Sasuke be cooperating with them? Willingly taking a serum..? It didn't make any sense. That's when his mind decided to kindly supply that it was possible that somehow, some way, they weren't imposters.

It made his stomach queasy just at the thought.

_XxX I've been waiting for this moment XxX _

Sasuke thought that question over. Was he a threat?

Yes.

But…

He frowned. This Konoha was not what he wanted to destroy…this Konoha had done nothing to his family.

Though the man sitting in front of him was tempting…he felt is body itch with the need to hurt the man- this disgusting human being was the one who sent his brother to kill everyone-including himself. He took a calming breath and diverted his mind back to the question at hand.

If what he thought was true-which was that he was somehow in the damn past- then this Konoha was…peaceful. Innocent.

His family was alive and thriving and his brother...he smiled, his brother would be a baby-young and without blood on his hands. Without the hard decision of whether to allow your family to live or die.

He closed his eyes, well aware that the sandaime was waiting for an answer. He didn't know what to say, because he didn't know. He could go just say he didn't know, but…

He would be lying-because if he looked and searched hard enough he knew the answer.

Could he really destroy this village when _this_ village has yet to wrong him? Yet..if he destroyed them, it would save him the trouble and anguish of going through life seeing the slaughter of his family.

Was that fair? Did he care…?

He shook his head. He was heartless and sometimes a monster but only when needed. Thinking rationally he knew the answer instantly.

"I will not harm this Konoha."

_XxX It's time for the battle XxX_

Naruto was surprised and stared in awe at Sasuke.

He wouldn't harm this Konoha? He sighed in relief as slight hope bubbled in his stomach. His best friend surfaced at the weirdest times, and although he kind of hinted that Naruto's Konoha was not safe, _his_ Sasuke was not heartless enough to harm innocent people.

He thought about that and smiled. Sasuke definitely wasn't as heartless as he had pictured him to be. After all the stories he had been told over the years about the monster that Sasuke had become, he was starting to believe them. He smiled at that and closed his eyes, ignoring what Hiruzen had said-it sounded muffled to Naruto anyway- and tried to embrace the darkness. Thinking too much made him tired.

_XxX Even if I never make it, take me home XxX_

Hiruzen frowned at the word choice. 'This Konoha'. So he wasn't a threat to this village at this time…but he will be? Should he be locked away for that? He had more questions than answers at this point.

He nodded stiffly, unsure whether to let Sasuke free-but…that was the truth serum. He would not harm this Konoha-was it fair to judge him when in the future life is bound to be different?

"I have a few more things I need to do and a few more things we need to discuss…" he trailed off as he gazed at the blond. His eyes were closed and he looked tired and on the brink of sleep.

"I guess they can wait." He told, causing Sasuke to turn and stare at his old friend.

"Hn."

Hiruzen chuckled lightly as he heard soft snores coming from the boy, maybe he did have some Kushina in him.

"We will talk tomorrow." He told, smiling and glanced at Sasuke who seemed to nod at his reply. He needed to think about this some more, and especially about how to hide what he had found out.

He had confirmed that they are from the future-no matte how weird or absurd that sounded. Now with two people from the future how were they going to change the past?

He sighed and gingerly strode towards the hospital bedroom door. He couldn't let anyone else know about this, and he was definitely running out of time. He knew tomorrow afternoon Minato and his entourage were coming back from Wave, Hiruzen had until then to sort this out and question them a bit further.

After all…he had no idea how they got here. What had – or maybe, who had - used a jutsu, or a seal, or some type of technique to bring them here. If he knew that, he could work on a solution.

He closed the door softly and walked down the hallway. Nobody was allowed to know this, and somehow he doubt that would happen.

* * *

><p><strong>Additional Disclaimer: We do not own the lyrics from The Fight by The Rasmus<strong>

(1) When googling this question…I get answers regarding Asuma…which is strange…whatever-his eyes are grey now. Plus that's what they are in the pictures I found.

Thanks to kitsuneluvuh for pointing out the spelling error ^^; We apologize, it has been corrected.

**Ages  
>Naruto: 21<br>****Sasuke: 21  
><strong>**Hiruzen: 53  
><strong>**Minato: 23**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

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><p><strong>A<strong>t **t**he **E**nd **o**f **t**he **P**ath  
><strong>By: P<strong>henomenal**N**itrus **& N**itty **G**ritty

**Chapter Four**

His eyes drooped as tiredness eased into his body. He had been up all night drafting and filing papers regarding the two new temporary members of Konoha. It was ridiculous the amounts of paperwork that went into this small task.

First he had to file who they were, and issue them passes to the city. Then council had to approve it-which they usually did. Once that was done, Hiruzen had already prepared documents for a low-class anbu mission, to monitor these guests. As much as they seemed to be of no threat, he was not about to let them wander through this village. Which led him to getting a seal master to agree and sign a confidentiality agreement regarding creating a seal to contain their chakra through a simple band-ring or arm band-it was yet to be determined.

He sighed, on top of those things he had to search for a place for the two boys to stay. Seeing how they couldn't live at the hospital the entire time, which led him to finding and securing an apartment for them.

He rubbed his temple with his hand tiredly and glanced at the last report he had to file. Complete personal biographies of the two-to send with the document to allow them passes to the city.

This entire document had to be forged…there was no way he was writing that Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze and Sasuke Uchiha were requesting entrance to the village, and that they came from the future Konoha. The document would be laughed at and Hiruzen would be thrown into the mental institution.

He glaced at the clock and felt his stomach coil. He had exactly two hours to finish this form up, to send it in-and await a ten hour approval period (which he had labeled an emergency so instead of two to three weeks it'll take up to ten hours) then cover it all from Minato who would be returning within seventeen hours.

He picked up his pen and began to write. He didn't care if Sasuke or Naruto agreed to anything he wrote-they would, because they had no choice in the matter.

_xXx I close my eyes, the lantern dies xXx_

"I'm sorry, I blanked there for a second." Naruto muttered out and shook his head, staring at the very annoyed and tired looking Hokage, "what did you just say?" he grinned slightly and looked uneasily between Sasuke and the Sandaime.

"Your name is Hiro Nakamura," Hiruzen told, again and sighed, "twenty-one years old from Yugakure. (1)"

Naruto nodded thoughtfully, " But that's not my name..." he stated, confused and turned serious blue eyes to the aging man. "I don't get it."

"Tch."

Naruto shot Sasuke a look-the look that spoke about shutting the hell up because he didn't need the input.

Hiruzen glanced between Sasuke and Naruto and noted the contrast between them, they were like the timeless cliché: day and night.

"You cannot parade around as Naruto Uzumaki," Hiruzen told seriously and glanced towards the confused blond, "The Uzumaki clan is dead." He told sadly, "they will not believe you."

"Oh…" Naruto mumbled out sadly and nodded. "So I'm…?"

"Hiro Nakamura."

"Right…" he nodded and mouthed the name, testing it and not liking how fake it felt.

"You're a wanderer," Hirzuen continued and took a step towards the bed and noticed the bruising around the tan wrist-the boy was obviously fighting with the handcuffs. "You've been travelling for three years since the death of your finace," he mumbled out and glanced at him, "her name was: Kira Nakamura," he told quietly, "she took your name after you proposed." Hiruzen explained and shrugged.

"How did she die?" Naruto curiously questioned.

"Bandits," Hiruzen told, "you left the village because it reminded you too much of her, and are seeking refuge in Konoha because it's somewhere new, and does not haunt you with memories of your deceased fiancé."

Naruto injested this and frowned. He didn't like it, hell he thought it was too fake-besides the fact that it obviously was. He sighed and nodded, there wasn't much he could do about it. He did want status in Konoha, and this fake lie was the only way.

He just hoped he could keep a straight face when seeing his parents.

His heart jolted at the thought of seeing them alive. He smiled stupidly to himself not noticing the concerned look the Sandaime was giving him nor the 'you're so stupid' gaze that Sasuke was directing at him.

Clearing his throat, and catching Naruto's attention, Hiruzen turned his eyes to Sasuke.

"You are Yuu Uchiha," he told, "came to Konoha to find the-"

"Why does he get to be an Uchiha?" Naruto hollered out, "that's not fair."

"If you would let me finish," Hiruzen glared darkly at the boy who recoiled slightly at the look. "Now," he directed back at Sasuke, "You are Yuu Uchiha, twenty one, from Kagerou. (2)

"You came to Konoha trying to find the rest of your family," he told, "both your parents died a few years ago and you were saving up for this trip. You are a carpenter, and decided to visit the home where your parents came from. They had run away from Konoha because the family would not accept their love." He told and Naruto rolled his eyes. Cheap, sappy story-it was a bad romance plot. Thankfully, Sasuke also seemed to be blanching at the idea that his parents were the modern: Romeo and Juliet.

"However, your mother-who was the Uchiha by blood- did not have the sharingan, you did develop it at a young age after seeing your father die." He told and sighed, "then it was you and your mother until she died of cancer."

"Why does everyone in our lives die?" Naruto pointed out and raised an eyebrow.

"Because I made it that way," he shrugged, "at twenty-one years old, you both would seem ridiculous running away from home."

Naruto chuckled, that was true, especially since both of them lived on their own. Well he did, he couldn't say the same thing for Sasuke anymore.

He scratched his cheek, "so why does he keep the Uchiha name?"

"Because I have the sharingan," Sauske replied and turned disbelieving eyes to Naruto, "would be hard to explain why I had it if I weren't an Uchiha, right, dead last?" he smirked causing the blond to scowl.

Stupid bastard was right…he hated when Sasuke was right.

_xXx The scent of awakening: wildhoney and dew xXx_

"Home sweet home." A soft velvety voice called to the rather large group of people that were standing around him. He smiled as he saw Konoha's gates just ahead and couldn't wait to go home and just relax.

"Finally!" a higher-pitched (but not too high) voice cried out and Minato glanced over his shoulder to his entourage, recognizing who that voice belonged to immediately. He really didn't like the fact that she was on this mission-that she practically forced herself on the mission.

Minato smiled as another anbu member hit her at the back of the head, dislodging the cat mask slightly, allowing red strands to peek through the porcelin.

"Ouch…" she mumbled out, "that's not nice." She scolded and glanced at the other anbu member, "I could report you Na-"

"Alright," Minato quietly interrupted tired and not really feeling like allowing his girlfriend to reveal the other identities of the anbu. He was still Hokage; he still followed the rules.

"Can we get along for the next ten minutes?" he questioned seriously and without waiting for an answer took a few steps forward towards his village.

It was good to be home.

_xXx Childhood games xXx_

"Ah hell," Naruto cursed as he rubbed his sore wrist, seeing the purple bruise were the cuffs used to be. "You're saying we're living together?" he motioned between him and Sasuke, a hint of madness in his voice. "You've got to be shitting me."

"Language," Hiruzen scolded. It was an automatic reply when he heard cussing now, having a teenage kid did that to adults.

Naruto waved his bruised hand dismissively, "Why are you rooming me with Mr. psycho over there?" he jabbed his thumb at Sasuke who pointedly ignored him.

"Because I am not renting out two apartments," he told and shrugged, "it is more economical if you share."

"I'll buy my own place," Naruto mumbled out and glared hatefully at his ex-teammate.

Hiruzen however heard him. "With what money?" he mocked and smiled slyly, "you do not exist here, you do not have any money in the bank or stored in a secret location that nobody but you knows about because you don't exist yet." He told out truthfully. Naruto had to take a deep breath at the words 'you don't exist'; it touched too close to his childhood.

"Right…" he ignored the feeling knowing that Hiruzen didn't mean anything by what was said. "I'd still rather live in a cardboard box then with him."

"That can be arranged." Sasuke smirked and Naruto stuck his tongue out in response.

Hiruzen felt his head pulse. Twenty-one and they acted worse than Asuma. He secretly praised his son for being sane and not arguing with his older brother constantly (3). If they had fought as much as they two, he may have been tempted to hurt one.

"Settle down," he smoothly told, feeling like he was teaching in the academy-maybe gennin would be better than this. "You both are expected to find jobs," he told and sighed, "Konoha will not be fitting your bill." He shrugged, "but you have three months to do so, plenty of time."

"Wait…we're not being reinstated as Ninja?" Naruto asked flabbergasted.

"No."

"Why the hell not?"

"Language." His head was really throbbing and he was severely tempted to just leave them and never return. However, the ticking clock told him he was running out of time to fix this mess.

"Moron."

"Shut up Sasuke!"

"Boys…" Hiruzen muttered. He didn't spend all night filling out paperwork, waiting twelve (because they were late) hours for approval, then pay anbu (who are not cheap) to watch them. Ungrateful brats.

"Explain old man!"

He was going to develop a twitch at this rate.

"You are not Konoha shonobi," he murmured, "I specifically stated that in your history neither of you have ninja training, for the reason that you won't have access to your chakra while-"

"WHAT?"

"Fucking hell!" Sasuke covered his ears and glared hatefully at Naruto. Hiruzen was surprised to see the Uchiha actually respond to something…that was definitely interesting-though he understood why. That boy had a set of lungs, like his mother.

"Shut up, idiot!" Sasuke seethed.

"Don't tell me-"

"Boys," Hiruzen cleared his throat, already seeing their apartment burned to the ground because they couldn't get along.

Naruto turned blazing blue eyes to him and took a deep breath. Hiruzen watched as those eyes turned softer and sighed in relief. Maybe he could get a full sentence out today?

"You will not have access to your chakra because I don't trust you."

Which was true. Could you blame him?

"Oh.." Naruto mumbled and glanced towards Sasuke. "And we'll be living together," he murmured out, "without chakra…at least you won't be able to kill me." He smirked and stuck out his tongue at the Uchiha.

"I don't need to kill you," Sasuke flippantly replied, "you can do that on your own."

"You fuck-"

"And!" Hiruzen spoke over Naruto directing a glare to the young man, "you will have anbu babysitters."

"I figured that," Naruto told and shrugged, "only an insane man would let two strangers wander his village without any sort of babysitter."

Hiruzen blinked. Out of all the things to be calm about it was about having your privacy invaded twenty-four seven? Seriously…? That kid was really weird.

"Please be discreet," He added in and glanced to the side table. He had already gotten the bands-which turned out to be rings- just a few hours ago. Hopefully they worked, but the sealer did say that they would suck out all chakra minus what is needed to stay alive.

He picked up the first ring, it was just a solid silver band. Nothing fancy about it and it would fit on the ring finger-which was going to Naruto. In memory of his deceased fake finace. He chuckled and walked towards the blond who was eyeing him critically.

"Put this on." He handed the band to him and Naruto eyed it before abruptly poking it.

"It won't bite me will it?" he murmured and grinned just showing that he was joking. He picked it up gently and felt the weight-it was pretty light. Made him question what type of metal that was used. Shrugging he slipped it on his left ring finger and felt everything leave him.

"Woah," he mumbled and felt his eyes get heavy and he felt incredibly dizzy all of a sudden.

Hiruzen however had stepped away from the hospital bed and held the second ring to Sasuke.

Sasuke eyed the ring carefully before picking it up. He glanced quickly to Naruto and noticed that his ex-teammate had his eyes closed and was obviously trying to focus on his breathing.

This ring would fit on his middle finger; it was silver with a dark blue stone in the center. A fire design was surrounding the stone and the entire ring covered half his finger, he noted that when he bent his finger the ring would bend as well. Someone had designed it so that even though it stretched over the knuckles it would not hinder movement.

Slowly he felt his chakra drain, definitely the effect was not as immediate as Naruto-which he summed up to him having Kyuubi. He felt slight dizziness as he kept his fingers moving, getting used to the new addition to his hand.

"Everything is set," Hiruzen muttered as he watched as Sasuke also closed his eyes and his breathing became laboured. That was always the effect of losing a lot of chakra suddenly-it felt as though you were suffering from an intense migraine headache.

"You may leave within the hour." He told, knowing that they both heard him. Naruto cracked his eye open and nodded; he could tell the pain was ebbing away as the blue eyes became more focused and less clouded over.

"Come see me in the Hokage's chambers before you leave, I have the address of where you will be staying plus your visitors passes." He told and shrugged before moving towards the hospital door.

_xXx Woods and lakes xXx_

Minato lugged himself to the Hokage chamber and opened the door expecting to see Hiruzen sitting in the chair, slumped over the overflowing stack of papers that were mounted on his desk. Unfortunately, what greeted him was a desk filled with more paperwork than he left.

"What did the old man do?" Kushina mumbled from behind him, and Minato had to agree. How did he end up with more work then he did when he left? Was that even possible?

He marched into the office, bypassing a few scrolls that littered the ground and stood at his desk. He marveled at how the stack of paper was actually still standing, it was on the brink of collapse.

He sighed and moved around the desk and sat in his nice big leather chair. He smiled as he relaxed into the chair and glanced at the six people who stood before him in shock-probably because of the mess...Minato tended to keep the office clean.

"Cat, Mouse, and Bear." He called to three of the four anbu, "thank you for your services. You are dismissed." He called and received three nods. Within seconds they had shunshin'ed (4) out of the room. He already knew that Kushina would head first to Anbu headquarters before heading home. They always left their mask at work-in lockers- so that nobody could accidentally stumble across it within their homes.

"Lion," he motioned to the other anbu member, "I expect a report on my desk…er…" he glaned worriedly at his desk, "well…to me tomorrow sometime. After that, you, cat, mouse and bear are on a two week break." He smiled and saw that the man in front of him appreciated the break.

"Yes sir." He replied and Minato waved his hand and the man disappeared from sight.

"Akira," he called to his assistant and smiled as she bowed respectfully. He had to drag her with him to Nami (5) because this was a diplomatic affair (which should be used as a new form of torture) and she held all the information on every single diplomate that he would find himself boringly conversing with.

They had been gone for just over two weeks: Three days to get there, spent ten days in the city, and another three days to get back. He was sure he wasn't the only one who missed Konoha.

"Hokage-sama?"

He smiled, "Thank you for all your hard work. You will also be getting two weeks off."

"Minato-s-"

"Don't try and argue," he smiled already knowing that she was about to protest. "You deserve it."

"You cannot expect to get through all this paperwork," she told hotly and frowned, "you won't get a single thing done Minato-sama."

"I won't get at thing done with you here either," he countered and sighed, "go home to your family Akira." He told and smiled, "I bet your daughter misses you."

She stiffened and nodded robotically. "Yes sir." She muttered out and walked towards the door, leaving the room with just Minato and his paperwork.

"Geez." He muttered glancing at the stack of papers. He picked the first sheet up and glanced at it.

"Tiger and Leopard are on a mission?" he furrowed his eyes and glanced at the mission sheet, the reason listed was…'classified.'

He frowned. How could it be classified even from the Hokage…? He was about to go find someone to ask regarding the mistake on the filed form when Hiruzen walked into his office.

"Hey, Sandaime-sama." He respectfully greeted and smiled at the man, "thank you for filling in on this Hirzuen-sama," he stood up and dropped the page back down on his desk.

"It was not problem, Minato-kun." The man replied with a bright, tired, smile.

"Anything interesting happen while I was away?" he asked curiously and when he saw Hiruzen smile he visibly relaxed. That smile was always reassuring because although Hiruzen seemed gentle and kind he could be ruthless and cunning when needed, and especially when it came to protecting Konoha. It was probably why he was made Hokage to begin with.

"Nothing at all."

* * *

><p><strong>Additional Disclaimer: We do not own the lyrics from Meadows of Heaven by Nightwish.<strong>

(1) Yugakure = Hidden Hot springs Village –in the Hidden springs village.

(2) Kagerou = Heat Haze village, it's in Mountain Country…somewhere.

(3) Hiruzen has two children (at least). Else, where did Konohamaru come from? I'm just making it so he had a son, rather than a daughter.

(4) Body flicker technique.

(5) Nami no Kuni: Wave country.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

* * *

><p><strong>A<strong>t **t**he **E**nd **o**f **t**he **P**ath  
><strong>By: P<strong>henomenal**N**itrus **& N**itty **G**ritty

**Chapter Five**

There were a lot of things in life that Gorou had seen, especially after being on the anbu squad for two years. However, he was not expecting to find a replica of the yondaime hokage as his next assignment.

The man-who must have been older than himself by a few good years, had blond sunshine hair, just like Minato. Blue, clear eyes that seemed endless, just like Minato's (although Minato's were a darker shade of blue). An obsessive appetite for ramen noodles, just like Minato.

Gorou sighed, and ran a dark hand through his hair, making sure to leave the Leopard mask in place. He was assigned by Hiruzen-sama to watch the blond boy, who was supposedly called Hiro. It was such a ridiculous name; it was just too common for his tastes.

He only hoped that Tiger was having a much better time watching the Uchiha-which he found oddly interesting that there was even an Uchiha that he didn't know about.

He watched the boy down another bowl of miso ramen and felt a sigh bubble in his chest. If this boy really was Minato's replica (which would not surprise the man), then Hiro was just warming up.

That had only been his second bowl of ramen.

_XxX Enemy, familiar friend, my beginning and my end XxX_

Sasuke scuffed and kicked a pebble in the road. After the guard at the Hokage tower had told them that the Sandaime had left and would be back in an hour and refusing them entrance, he had decided to visit the market.

He left Naruto standing there, with that annoying dumbfounded face as he stared questioningly at the guard. The clothes made the moron seem unprofessional: he was dressed in a dark purple t-shirt and dark graying slacks; completely mismatched, almost like his personality.

Sasuke sighed and stuffed his hands into his faded jeans. Hiruzen had given them spare clothing that belonged to his eldest son.

He was not inclined to take them. After all, taking something from that man was unthinkable. He was the death of the Uchiha clan-he ordered the slaughter. So Sasuke had adamantly refused the clothing, hell the hospital gown would have been better, even if people could see his ass. He didn't care-he was not taking clothing from Hiruzen.

Yet…he did. Maybe he had some sense of decency? Maybe he just couldn't punish the man for what he had done to his family knowing that they were _currently _alive here? Maybe there were a lot of things, but all he knew is that he ended up hesitantly grabbing the offered clothes and changing quickly into them.

He hated hospitals as much as Naruto did. Maybe it had to do with that?

He sidestepped a small child who was running through the market without watching where she was going. He glanced at all the buildings, noticing a figure following him atop of the rooftops. No doubt the Anbu babysitter.

They had already been given their assignment? Hiruzen was a fast worker.

Ignoring the anbu he moved around the corner and found a few more shops, bustling with life.

He sighed, what was he going to do in an hour?

He couldn't say Konoha has changed much, considering he hadn't stepped foot in the village since he was twelve…and here he was at twenty-one. Though, looking at all the different faces and comparing it to when he was twelve, there were a lot more people floating around and they all seemed…happier than they were when he was a child.

He scanned the area, and moved around a few gaggling girls who stopped to stare at some sale that was happening. Sasuke glanced down at the glinting damnable ring on his finger, temptation to just take it off and burn the village running through his veins.

He reached a hand to touch the metal and flexed his finger with the ring on it. It would be so simple…

He sighed and dropped his hand, and walked quickly out of the market place, ignoring the voice that called him a coward for not taking the ring off and destroying the place that destroyed him.

Sasuke ignored it and shook the feeling off.

Once he was clear of all the people he turned to look at the Hokage mountain and although he was sure he was in the past it was still odd seeing only three faces on the mountain-although it was clear that a fourth face was being added on, considering all the construction material around the mountain.

He idly wondered how back in time they have gone. What exact year they were in? Who was alive in his family and who had yet to be born?

Sasuke growled lowly in his throat as he felt something collide with his legs. He glanced down at the kid and glared hatefully at him before his eyes softened.

'No way.'

_XxX Knowing truth, whispering lies XxX_

Mikoto groaned, as she held on tighter to Itachi who was holding her hand calmly. Sometimes she was thankful for the fact that he was more reserved than most children his age.

She strode forward slowly, so that Itachi could keep up with her pace.

"Shisui," she called carefully watching as the little boy looked apologetically at the man he had just ran right into. The man's eyes suddenly shifted from the child to her, and she could see him physically stiffen.

Smiling politely she stood a few feet away from him, and her nephew had come back to her side sticking his tongue out to Itachi-who merely turned away from him.

Mikoto shook her head, "I apologize," she told to the man who seemed quite stunned. She worriedly glanced at him, "are you okay?"

The man glanced at her and she couldn't help but stare at him. She had never met him before in her life, yet, she felt as though…she couldn't explain it. It was warmth, kind of like a mother's warmth.

"Fine." His voice was deep but gentle. She smiled and nodded her head, glancing down at her nephew.

"What do you say Shisui," she scolded lightly to the five year old. He furrowed his brow and sheepishly turned to the man.

"Sorry," Shisui told quietly, staring at the man before him. Mikoto beamed happily at the apology.

The man regarded Shisui. Mikoto felt her warmth die at the look that her nephew was receiving, she always hated that when people would regard the boy-they always gave him adoring looks-he was the "pride" of the Uchiha clan. This man seemed more…fascinated by Shisui, and that was never good.

He has the most potential to be successful as a ninja and sometimes she pitied him for that. He was always forced into training; even at his young age of five he was training with his dad.

Though she couldn't really hold blame for the parents either…

She sighed and stared at the man who seemed to still be regarding Shiusi in fascination.

"Umm…" she cleared her throat causing the man to glance to her. "It was nice meeting you…"

"Yuu." He replied carefully.

"Yuu," Mikoto parroted back and smiled, "Thanks for…" what, she wasn't sure. Not mauling Shuisi for bumping into him-even if he was a kid?

"Thanks for everything." She lamely finished and heard him chuckle lightly.

She stared at him and couldn't help but think that his laugh was absolutely beautiful. She smiled and turned on her heel, holding Itachi's hand and Shuishi following close behind.

"Mom…" Itachi began, turning his head to look back at Yuu who was still standing dazedly on the sidewalk. "He looks like you."

_XxX And it hurts again XxX_

Kakashi scoffed as he slowly hoisted himself off the ledge of the building. He had found peace on the Hokage tower building, and since there was no meeting being held on the roof, he found no harm in just people watching.

He fixed his forehead protector, making sure it covered his eye. He let his finger linger on the metal a bit longer than normal, memories of Obito flooding through his mind. They always did, it was a never-ending guilt trip.

It didn't help any that the Uchiha's decided to make his life a living hell-not that he needed anymore grief. But the Uchiha's, they found fit to make it so that he was tormented and alone. He had no friends anymore, and even his other teammate didn't pop in and say hi to him anymore.

He fixed his one eye on the village and bitter thoughts welled up in him. More often than not, he hated them. He only ever stayed loyal to Konoha because of his teacher, Minato.

Minato taught him everything about being a strong ninja and a decent human. He was like the father he never knew. He placed both hands in his pockets and slunk away from the edge of the tower.

Minato was the one who always helped him. He was the one who stood by him as he was omitted to the hospital after being beaten by some Uchiha clan members. He was also the one who could actually make him feel alive-useful and important to another soul. He was the one who understood and respected him even after Obito's death.

Kakashi glanced towards the village and sighed. If it wasn't for Minato he wouldn't be who he was today. Minato always challenged him, and his first challenge to Kakashi was to learn to fight with just his own eyes-well eye. He had lowered Kakashi's forehead protector to cover Obito's eye and then told him to train with just his own strength. Learn to fight with just the one eye, it'll make him stronger and when he needed Obito's strength then he could unleash it. Surprise enemies and comrades alike. He had jumped for the idea and had taken to training with just one eye.

He jumped from the Hokage tower and down on the street. He was hoping to see Minato-sensei after he had returned. He had missed the man; it was boring in the village alone with nothing to do. He was placed off active duty for a week to allow injuries to heal.

He touched his arm lightly where there were still stitches in him. The enemy blade sliced his arm badly but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle and he hated the sandaime for taking him out of the game.

Kakashi glanced at the ramen stand and found himself walking into it, pushing the red flaps away from him. He noticed that there were two other people in the place and was thankful that neither of them were Uchiha. (1)

He took a seat at the end of the bar, two stools between him and a blond looking civilian. With the mis-matched clothes he could honestly say the man looked like a moron.

"What is you'd like today, Kakashi-san?" the owner, who he felt a little guilty not knowing the man's name, asked politely. He was always polite to people, and was another small ray of hope that this village had a heart.

"Pork ramen," he quietly told and diverted his eyes. Although the man was always polite, he hated being addressed. People always turned and whispered about him and his comrades-or about his dismantled team.

"Kakashi…?" the blond man murmured thoughtfully and Kakashi was drawn away from staring at the cream coloured wall and towards the voice.

"Yes." He acknowledged and eyed the man critically. He looked almost identical to his teacher- the hair, the eyes, the skin-tone, even the facial structure. But his eyes…although they held the same blue tone they were rounder on this man. Not only that, he had scars on his cheeks.

"Wow." The man whistled lightly and smiled gently, "I've heard a lot about you." He thoughtfully told and looked as though he were holding back from laughing.

Kakashi scowled. If the man wanted to laugh at him-call him the poor pathetic orphan who's best friend died saving him, then he should just come out and say it instead of trying to hide his obvious amusement.

"Got a problem?" he darkly questioned.

The man smiled and chuckled lightly, "not at all, Kakashi-san."

"Bullshit." He spat out and got off his stool, prepared. He was not about to tolerate this. He didn't need to be hassled.

"Ma, calm down." The man reassured, moving his hands in a negative fashion. "I don't want to fight you."

"Tch." Kakashi sat back on his stool, eyeing the man again before thanking the owner quietly for the food that just got placed in front of him.

Kakashi didn't bother to acknowledge the man and was thankful for the silence between the three occupants of the bar.

"You know…" the man began and turned his attention back to the young ninja. He groaned-so much for silence. "I've never seen you take your mask off. Not even once."

Kakashi stared and narrowed his grey eyes. Was this man following him? That sentence sent him on edge, and he felt him instinctively reaching for his kunai pouch.

"How do you even eat like that?" the man thoughtfully questioned, oblivious to the atmosphere that he just created.

"What…?" Okay, nobody had asked him that before. Nobody cared.

"With a mask on," the man pointed to his mouth, "wouldn't the food just hit your mask? So how do you eat?"

Kakashi blinked owlishly and glanced down to his bowl. He decided, the moron was not worth his time.

"Oi." The man pouted and there was a rustling behind him signaling that someone else had entered the ramen bar.

"Hokage-sama is ready for you now, Hiro-san." A voice directed to this Hiro and Kakashi spun in his chair to see an anbu member with a leopard mask on his face addressing to the blond man.

He looked towards the blond. So his name was Hiro? It didn't fit him at all.

He turned back to his ramen and smirked. He picked up his chopsticks and waited for them to exit the bar-after the blond had slapped down a few yen, before digging into his meal.

The man oddly reminded him of his teacher.

_XxX What I fear and what I try XxX _

Sasuke stared at the saindaime and yondaime hokages that were standing before them as though him and Naruto were specimens of science.

"Wow." Minato murmured and glanced towards Hiruzen. His face twisted into confusion and he seemed struck on Naruto. Sasuke could almost hear the cogs twisting in his mind but he also could see the doubt lingering on his face.

"So these are the new civilians?" Minato turned his blue eyes towards the older man and Sasuke kept his eyes firmly plastered to the man. Hate still bubbling on the surface for him.

"Yes." He replied, calmly and clasped his hands together. "Yuu Uchiha and Hiro Nakamura."

Sasuke noticed that Naruto seemed to tense at the name and could only inwardly scold the idiot for showing even the slightest bit of emotion. They had to pull this off flawlessly, unless they wanted to spend their time in prison.

He sure as hell wasn't, Naruto could go there alone for all he cared.

"Uchiha?" Minato murmured his eyes boring in on Sasuke. Sasuke met his gaze, his eyes locking on those deep blue ones that belonged to the fourth.

"Yes," Hiruzen answered on behalf of Sasuke-seeing how he wasn't about to answer anytime soon. "He is here visiting the birthplace of his parents."

Minato eyed Sasuke before turning his eyes to Hiruzen. His face looked serious and his eyes turned a shade darker. Sasuke felt his gut clench at the way he held himself-he obviously sensed something was asmiss.

"Stop lying Hiruzen-san." Minato quietly told, ruffling his blond hair with his hand. "What is going on?"

"I have tol-"

"The truth," Minato sternly told and took a seat on his desk, causing a few papers to fall ungracefully to the floor. "Who are these people?"

"Confidential." Hiruzen sternly told and was immediately met with shocked wide blue eyes. Minato seemed taken aback by that comment and his mouth parted slightly as he laughed heartedly.

"You're kidding. Confidential, Hiruzen, I'm the Hokage." He told, and although he was dressed casually, he still had an air of authority surrounding him.

"I'm sorry Minato-kun." Hiruzen began and took the opportunity to move around the desk and grab a few sheets of paper, "but this is outside your jurisdiction."

"Outside of my jurisdiction?" he murmured and turned cold steely eyes to his previous hokage, "explain."

"I cannot," he sighed and glanced towards both Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto seemed to be a little thrown off by the conversation; maybe because he himself was hokage and probably never encountered someone who would actually state that something was outside his jurisdiction.

"What…" Minato sighed and glared at the man, "what happened while I was gone?" he asked, a threat laced in his voice.

"These two appeared."

"From where?"

Sasuke groaned. Why where they here? They were obviously having a conversation among themselves. They could have at least offered them a seat, instead of standing like statues in the middle of the room.

"I do not know."

Minato stood quickly and rounded on the saindaime, "and you allowed them into my village?" he hissed, "are you insane?"

"No." Hiruzen calmly told and turned his gentle eyes on to Naruto and then drifted to Sasuke. "They will not harm Konoha."

"How can you be sure?" he questioned seriously.

"They took a test of mine," he smiled politely and glanced towards Minato. "Minato-kun I would never allow harm to befall the village or the people." He told strictly, "have more faith in me."

Minato seemed to be turning the words over in his mind and Sasuke watched as his shoulders relaxed and he seemed to come to terms with this.

"Why can't I know?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

"It can be damaging." Hiruzen mumbled and turned his eyes, lingering on Naruto's form for a few minutes. Minato seemed to watch where he was staring and took a close look at Naruto.

Sasuke smirked as his eyes seemed to be analyzing the blond who was shifting uncomfortably under their gazes. Minato seemed to dawn on something.

"Who is he?" he pointed to Naruto and he took a step closer to Naruto who seemed to freeze upon seeing his dad coming towards him. However, he stopped after a few steps and was still a decent distance from them.

"He is a person," Hiruzen muttered and turned his eyes to Minato, "he is not from this time."

Minato whipped his head around and his eyes widened comically and Sasuke felt like smacking some sense into Hiruzen. Did he not have any tact?

"What…?"

"They are from a different time. That is Yuu Uchiha and Hiro Nakamura." He told and glanced at Minato the cogs in his brain trying to sort through their last names.

"The future?"

"I did not say that."

"The past?"

"I never specified."

Minato groaned and glanced back at Naruto his eyes uncertain. "They are not a threat?"

"No."

Sasuke watched as Minato seemed to think over everything. He could almost see the questions swirling in the man's eyes as his eyes swirled with emotions-much like how his son was so readable. The fourth glanced towards the two of them and a frowned worked its way on his face before he seemed to come to grips with the situation.

"I will allow this Hiruzen-sama," he reluctantly told, "but I am not pleased."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at that and smiled politely, "I overstepped a line," he told apologetically and moved towards the Hokage's office door, "I apologize." He swept past both Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto's eyes trailed after the aging man and Sasuke could tell he was trying to avoid eye contact with his dad. He smirked; the dobe couldn't even face his family.

Though a voice at the back of his mind was goading him, telling him he was the same. He decidedly ignored it.

"However, Minato-kun." Hiruzen began his eyes glinting as he reached for the knob, "let me handle this situation."

Sasuke watched the yondaime's features stiffen and he seemed guarded.

"I cannot allow that Hiruzen-sama."

"Trust me, Minato-kun."

"I do." He sighed out and glanced at the boys, "but as Hokage I will not let this matter drop."

Hiruzen opened the door and stood awkwardly beside it, displaying the hallway to everyone around. "I understand, but may I be consulted?"

Minato mulled the idea over in his mind before he found himself nodding. He could be useful. He glanced at the boy again, the boy who looked ridiculously like him, and sighed. For some reason, he felt a little hurt by the aversion. The Uchiha didn't seem to mind glaring at him.

"Dismissed." He told everyone in the room, pointedly to Sasuke and Naruto.

Naruto turned to Minato and bowed politely, though Sasuke scuffed and walked crisply towards the door. His shoes scoffing against the floor as he past Hiruzen.

"Wait." The aging man called to Sasuke, just as Naruto stood in the doorway. His eyes curious to what the man had to say.

Hiruzen just smiled, "I will show you were you will be staying."

Sasuke groaned, and Naruto blanched. 'Great.'

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><p><strong>Additional Disclaimer: We do not own lyrics from Fight Inside by Red.<strong>

_(1) _Nitty Gritty Note.

Okay a little about Kakashi in this story. Instead of being 13 when Obito gave him the sharingan I made it so that in this story he would have recieved the sharingan when he became a chunin instead of jonin. That being said he made Chunin instead at the age of six, but at the age of 11. He is also a year older in this fic than what he should be in the time-line (considering Naruto and Kakashi are only 16 years difference in age).

**Ages  
><strong>**Kakashi: 14  
>Shusui: 5<br>Itachi: 2  
>Mikoto: 24 <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto**

We apologize for such a long delay. Life decided to happen, to both of us.

Thank you for your continued support and those who took the time to review. c:

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><p><strong>A<strong>t **t**he **E**nd **o**f **t**he **P**ath  
><strong>By: P<strong>henomenal**N**itrus **& N**itty **G**ritty

**Chapter Six**

They were escorted across Konoha like criminals to the outskirts of the village, a few streets away from the Uchiha district.

The apartment was similar to the one Naruto had as a child. It was a one-bedroom dorm type of room. The bathroom was located to the right of the front door, and the kitchen was in a small-secluded area just next to the bathroom. There was no real living room, just the bedroom. The two twin beds were on the far side of the room, underneath a plain looking window, and between them stood a sturdy wood side table with a single lamp on it.

However, Naruto had to admit, this place was definitely a step up from what he lived in as a gennin. The walls although slightly stained the paint wasn't faded or peeling off, nor was the tattered white carpet filled with unknown bugs.

He quickly glanced at Sasuke and noticed the look of indifference on his face but Naruto was sure that he was probably a bit upset about the lack of privacy this room would provide and the fact that he was sharing with him. Not that he himself liked the idea of sharing a room with the bastard, but there was nothing he could do about it, except suck it up and live with it.

Naruto moved towards one of the beds, bypassing the tiny kitchen table that was big enough for only three people.

He took a look at the bed and sighed, plopping down on it, feeling the mattress dip under his weight. He looked at the table between the two beds and pulled open the small drawer there and noticed that it was empty. With a slight struggle he was able to close it properly and lean back on the bed.

"I guess this is home," Naruto muttered glancing at Sasuke who still seemed to be digesting the appearance of the apartment-which was essentially one room with an attached bathroom-though you could say the kitchen was an entire room itself, considering although it was secluded it did not have any walls dividing it from the rest of the room.

Sasuke's eyes hardened as he stepped around the small kitchen table, almost bumping into one of the chairs before he made his way towards the beds. He didn't spare Naruto a single glance before he hastily threw the blankets off the bed and tossed them on the floor.

Naruto watched as he bundled them up and stalked across the room back to the front door. Without a word he left the room and the apartment.

He chuckled and began to sit up on the bed. He wasn't used to having a twin-sized bed anymore, and suddenly a wave of distress washed over him. He quickly leapt off the bed and stared at the blankets horrified.

The sheets he was sitting on….

He never thought about who would have used the sheets…or if they had been washed. What if horny teenagers used to live here and they had sex on…

He shook his head and repeated what Sasuke had just done. He flung the sheets off as though they were infected (which they could be!) and huddled them together. He was off to find the laundry room! …or maybe he'd ask Sasuke to burn them for him with a Katon.

He smirked-the second one sounded better than doing any housework, but quickly a thought washed through him. Sasuke would never do that for him…he would most likely use the katon on him rather than the sheets.

…and then Naruto remembered that they had no chakra. He glanced at the stupid band on his finger, and walked towards the front door of the apartment.

So to the laundry room it was!

_xXx Undead, you better get out of the way xXx_

Asuma stared at his sensei and sighed. They were a week from the Chuunin exams and he could already feel anxiety bubbling in his chest. Glancing at his feet he shifted uncomfortably as they were instructed, once again, about the process that there is to become a chuunin.

He didn't quite understand how the marking worked-he understood the written portion, then the mission that followed, but the sparring competition is where he was thrown off. The person who makes it to the finals and wins may not necessarily become a chuunin-the winner could possibly forfeit in the middle of the exam.

He didn't get it and he knew that Kurenai didn't either.

"Is there any other questions?" Hizashi called out to the group. He glanced at each of his members of his squad and when none of them replied he nodded his head in a signal of dismissal.

Asuma walked beside Kurenai and Gai as they left the training grounds. They were going on a mission in a few days, and would be back two days before the exams. Hizashi said that was more than enough time for them to settle in and continue to prepare for the exam-but Asuma was worried. He didn't want to fail.

He heard rumours that on the last chuunin exam only five people passed. There were over twenty people who made it to the finals, and less than half passed. It was unnerving.

He sighed and turned to Kurenai to see her eyes focused on him. He watched as she turned her red eyes away and he could see a faint blush dusting her cheeks.

"I'm heading to the tower," he told his teammates, taking a few steps ahead of them.

"Going to see your dad?" Gai questioned. Asuma nodded, not bothering to turn to see his green-spandex wearing teammate.

"Say hi to him for us!" Kurenai told happily and Asuma waved his head over his shoulder to them-letting them know he had heard her.

He moved quickly through the streets and walked past the many different stores that always seemed to be brimming with civilians. He was thankful today that they seemed to pre-occupied with shopping, or talking to notice him. Sometimes he hated being the son of a Hokage. The civilians would be respectful to him at a sickening level when it wasn't needed-or wanted.

But since his dad had stepped down, he had still received the polite gestures and he often wished he wouldn't. But it was definitely a lot calmer in that department than it had been when his dad was the active hokage.

The tower loomed closer and he noticed a figure standing outside of the doors debating whether she should enter or not. Asuma smiled and walked up to the redhead.

Everyone knew who Kushina Uzumaki was. It was hard not to know who she was. The loud and most unpredictable ninja in the village-he had heard stories of when she was younger, about how she would tell everyone that she was going to be Hokage.

Yet as she grew, he dreams changed, and she was still an astounding ninja and definitely worthy of respect.

"Kushina-sama." Asuma politely called to her, nervously fiddling with his brown sweater. He had it rolled up the sleeves-too hot for long sleeves at this time of year.

"Ah," the redhead turned around and Asuma admired how pretty she was, everyone seemed to notice her beauty. Red firey hair that suited her personality perfectly, with tanned skin and violet eyes, she was easily one of the prettiest women in the village.

"Asuma-kun." Her voice was loud and deeper than any high squealing female out there, but it was gentle.

He smiled at her and glanced towards the door. "You expecting Hokage-sama?" he quietly asked, hoping that Minato was back so that his father wouldn't be in the position of power.

"Yes." She smiled and flicked a red strand of hair out of her face. "But he's taking his sweet time." She grumbled out and sighed drearily.

"When did you get back?" he questioned curiously, staring up at the red tower. He knew that her and a few others were out on a mission, not that he knew what the mission was, but just that they had been gone for a while.

"Earlier today," she told truthfully and smiled, "it's good to be home."

Asuma nodded and placed both hands behind his head, looking casually up at the sky. "Home." He muttered out and glanced away from the tower in the direction that he lived.

Kushina noted the tone and sighed, placing a soft hand on his head. "Still having problems with your dad?" she questioned quietly and she noted that Asuma's eyes widened with surprise. He hadn't told anyone that…

"I guess…" he muttered out tiredly and decided to place both hands in his pockets.

"Well…he'll see who you are soon," she told and smiled gently, "you're a good kid."

He frowned at being called a kid, "I'm twelve you know?" he muttered out.

"Oh, I apologize. You're not a kid anymore," she smiled and sighed tiredly. "He sure is taking his time."

Asuma glanced at the doors and suddenly an image of a person popped into his mind. Minato's double, with scars lining his cheek-though his eyes could be different colour. Nobody saw him open his eyes, he was unconscious when he was found.

"They might be dealing with an issue." Asuma muttered out, already knowing his father was in the tower. Hiruzen practically lived there.

"Hmm?"

Asuma regarded her and sighed tiredly, "there were two people found in the outskirts of the city. In the forest."

Kushina blinked and he could see that she didn't understand what this had to do with anything.

He smiled and continued, "one of them could have been Hokage-sama's twin."

Kushina seemed to understand that and nodded, "an imposter." She muttered out and sighed.

Asuma had thought the same thing but…"I don't think so." He told her and she glanced at him quickly as though he had grown another head. "He wasn't a perfect copy of Hokage-sama."

"Not all of them are," she told truthfully and smirked, "you'd be surprised at how some imposters think Minato looks like."

He took that information in and still he shook his head, "No, I don't believe him to be an imposter."

She frowned and glanced at him, "what makes you think that?"

He shuffled his feet awkwardly and tried to think of something logical about why he just didn't think the man was an imposter. All he could come up with was, 'he didn't seem like one' and it was a very lame answer.

He shrugged his shoulders and turned his back to the tower. He suddenly didn't want to deal with his dad right now.

"They might be a while," he told her and smiled, "you should get home before it gets dark."

Kushina laughed and glanced towards the sky, "I'm fine kid, and you should be the one home before dark. I'm a big girl, you know." She winked playfully to him and he chuckled himself for wandering off towards the direction of his house.

_xXx Tomorrow we'll rise so let's fight today xXx_

It was around midnight when Naruto finally returned back to the small apartment that belonged to him, temporarily.

He had, after throwing the sheets out and gone shopping for new ones-which he received very curious looks as soon as people noticed him- gone to the hokage mountain.

He sat atop of second's head and stared out over the small village. It was much smaller than it was when he was a kid, and even now as hokage, he noticed how much smaller and peaceful this Konoha was.

His eyes lingered towards the Uchiha district and his heart lurched with the thought that Sasuke's family was inside their warm houses, happy-alive. Unaware that in…the near future they would be killed brutally by one of their own.

He had spent most of his time thinking about his mother and father, wondering if it was safe to talk to them, and mostly nervous about actually speaking to them. He didn't say a single thing to his dad earlier that day he regretted it but for all purposes his parents would know him as Hiro, not Naruto.

He sighed as he stepped into the apartment as thoughts drifted back to the idea that they would never hug him, when they fixed this mess and he was sent back to his time, he would never have received a hug from either of his parents.

He closed the door with his foot and noticed that Sasuke was eating some a form of tomato salad at the table. Naruto nodded in greeted but received a cold glare in return before the young Uchiha turned back to his food.

He maneuvered around the table and dropped the bought sheets onto his bed and noticed that Sasuke had also bought new sheets. A smile tugged at his lips at the fact that they had both done the same thing.

He started making his bed, thoughts drifting back to his parents, and to how he ended up here.

He still couldn't figure out what happened earlier that landed both of them here. All he remembers is pain and going on a mission to escape work.

He started smoothing out the blanket, thinking back to his Konoha. He wondered if they noticed he'd disappear. Was anyone looking for them? Did that time even exist right now?

He unconsciously allowed his fingers to drift to his stomach where the seal was still intact (he had checked in a bathroom earlier), so did that mean Kyuubi was still sealed inside him?

He sighed and stood straight up as he stared at the completed bed, ignoring the movement as Sasuke stood up to place his plate in the sink.

Naruto took a seat on his bed, and kicked off his shoes. He lay back and fluffed one of the two new pillows he bought for himself. He closed his eyes and decided that having a chat with Kyuubi might just be a good thing. Maybe the fox had some answers-though he probably wouldn't provide any of them to Naruto-he was an ass that way.

_xXx You know I don't give a fuck what you think or say xXx_

The midscape where Kyuubi was, was always dark, damp, and creepy. The water always felt real as Naruto walked along the sewers, the water drenching his socks and pants thoroughly. He walked along the dimly lit path knowing it would lead up to the fox and took a deep breath, tasting sulfur in the air and prepared himself to greet the beast.

He reached the bars and saw the same seal placed in the middle of the bars. He glanced wearily into the bars and before he could open his mouth to speak to Kyuubi, the fox had snapped at him from within its bars, teeth bared and malice dripping from his eyes as he stared hatefully at Naruto.

"What do you want?" he growled (maybe it was a she, Naruto never bothered to find out).

"Some answers." He kept his voice calm and cool, reminding himself that the bars would protect him from the beast. You can never show fear to the fox.

"Ha!" Kyuubi chuckled and took a few steps from the bars.

Naruto frowned and glanced around the area. "Do you know what is happening outside of these bars?"

The snarl startled Naruto and he found the face of the fox pressed right against the golden bars.

"How would I know that?" it venomously spat. "I am trapped in your pathetic body."

Naruto shrugged and sighed. "Can you see what happens to me?"

Kyuubi snorted and he took that as a no, consider how his eyes shined with the answer. Naruto didn't know much about the fox, he never bothered to ask, but he was always curious whether the demon could hear or see everything that Naruto did…or even feel.

Suddenly the howl from earlier echoed in his mind and he frowned. His memory was still distorted but he could vividly remember hearing the Kyuubi in pain when he had been inflicted with it…why?

"You felt what I felt earlier…?" he asked lamely but he wanted to know.

Kyuubi glared at him, his red eyes burning like rubies.

"I did." He muttered out and grinned at Naruto, his sharp pointed teeth being purposely displayed for the blond to see.

"How were you able to? Do you always…?"

Naruto took a step back as a rush of wind passed through the corridor and Kyuubi was once again right up against the bar, his claws stretched past the bars and poised perfectly in front of Naruto's face.

"Do not question me, mortal." He/she hissed and Naruto tired to keep calm but before he could speak he was thrown out of his mindscape and was back in the apartment.

He opened his eyes tiredly and groaned at having more questions than answers again.

He hated not knowing what was happening.

_xXx Cuz we gonna rock this whole place anyway! xXx_

Mikoto held Itachi against her hip, as the two year old squirmed at trying to grab the kitchen utensils on the counter.

"He told us that he was handling it," she hotly told and readjusted the squirming toddler, as she stared defiantly at her husband. "Why are they presuing it?" she huffed agitatedly.

Fukagu sighed and went to take Itachi from his wife, pulling out a small set of keys from his pocket and handing them to Itachi. The toddler happily grabbed them and started jiggling them and giggling happily at the sound.

"I don't know," he told, he was torn between both sides of this discussion, "they do not trust the sandaime."

"They trust Minato," she challenged and huffed, corssing her arms over her chest. Everyone called the fourth-well everyone who grew up with him- by his given name. "Do they dare to go against him?"

Fugaku thought about that listening to the rattling of his keys, "I don't know." He truthfully told and slowly kneeled down to place Itachi on the floor.

Itachi started to walk crisply towards the dinning room, his socks softly scuffing against the floor as the jingling followed him.

"You may not be the head," she murmured, "but you still have sway over the rest of the clan. Persuade them not to pursue this issue," she told hotly and glanced at him, "I met the boy, although he does resemble an Uchiha he is still not our problem. We are not to keep bullying people." She agitatedly told.

"You met him?"

Mikoto nodded and thought back to earlier that day, when she was taking Shisui and Itachi to the park to play. She had bumped into the boy, and there was this urge to protect him. Even from her family.

"When?" Fukagu asked, shock evident in his voice.

"With Shisui and Itachi, earlier today." She told and shrugged, "he seems like a nice boy. And Fugaku, I am telling you to leave him alone, if not, you're sleeping on the couch until you get your brain back." She told with malice in her voice and a smile on her face.

_xXx Undead xXx_

Sasuke watched as Naruto's eyes fluttered shut and a few minutes later the light snoring followed.

He leaned back on his bed and closed his eyes, images of his mother, brother and cousin dancing across his mind. All of them young, innocent and most importantly they were all alive.

His heart constricted at the thought of seeing the Uchiha district booming with life instead of the dead silence that accompanied him before he moved out of the district at eight.

He turned on his side; back facing Naruto as he thought about staying here forever and preventing Itachi from killing anyone. He didn't care if he messed with the timeline-the future; he just wanted his family back.

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><p><strong>Additional Disclaimer: Lyrics belong to Undead by Hollywood Undead.<strong>


	7. AN

Err…

Right I'm going to be hated. But this story is going to be discontinued/up for adoption.

I wanted to rework chapters 5 & 6 but I just haven't had time. I kind of feel bad just leaving the story as it, but if someone wants to take it up, go for it. But I'm not going to actively work on it, just because school is getting really hard to pay for and I'm currently couch surfing between friends. Hard to set my mind to focus on the story, plus NG is now reworking her own story and whatnot, so it'll be hard to keep the collab going.

So sorry guys u.u I kind of disappointed in myself for giving it up. But I would rather do that then leave it floating in the achieve forever marked "incomplete".

Thanks for reading it though! I really enjoyed the experience.


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